Went to a local dive bar last night and ended up getting cruised by a dark-haired hapa-esque girl who suspected I may be part South American. I'm not. She said she was an adoptee from Bolivia and somehow recognized a bit of home in me. Coincidentally, a few months back, a lady I met in France was convinced I was Peruvian. Wish I had something deeper to say about this. I don't. In any case, all this excitement reminded me to do research on a sign I noticed along the horizon when I was reporting in Lima a few years ago: a giant "WONG." It belongs to Erasmo Wong's chain supermarket, where you can buy awesome condiments like aji amarillo sauce. Kinda tastes like super spicy Cheez Whiz, but won't congeal in your arteries since it's essentially made out of yellow hot peppers.


I bought this jar at my local grocery. Anyway, even though everybody knows Asians are everywhere, it's still surprising when you find them all the way in Peru, which, in fact, has the largest ethnic Chinese community in Latin America.